


time, mystical time (cutting me open, then healing me fine).

by dwoht



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU no powers, Childhood Friends to Lovers, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:10:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26210116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwoht/pseuds/dwoht
Summary: and isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?or,A look into Valentine's Day throughout the years.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 12
Kudos: 326





	time, mystical time (cutting me open, then healing me fine).

**February 14, 1996  
**Lena’s not sure why Valentine’s Day is a holiday that second graders celebrate, but the class party is fun enough, they don’t have to do any math, and she likes arts and crafts.

She peels some dried glue off of her fingers and peeks over at Kara’s project. It’s simple, neat, and has the word “Alex” scribbled in thick blue marker. The teacher had told them they could give a Valentine to anyone, be it a friend or parent, so Kara chose her sister. Lena does not have one of those, so she carefully selects the sharpest red colored pencil she can find to draw a heart around where she’d written “Mom.”

Mike hasn’t written a name on his, but he pushes his mop of messy hair to the side and smiles at the table. “This is so romantic.”

“Ew,” Winn says. His is for his dog. 

“What’s ‘romantic?’” Lena asks.

“It’s like, when you like someone,” Kara says. She colors in a line of hearts around the edge of her paper and continues, “You know, how people get married and stuff. Marriage is romantic, I think.”

“Well, I like you,” Lena says, trying to think it through. “Maybe we can get married.”

“No,” Kara says. She shrugs and says, matter of factly, “we don’t have rings. You need rings to get married.”

“Oh.” Lena frowns, but then pushes aside her card project, and pulls out a new sheet of blank white paper. She colors it roughly with a pink pencil, and then gets to work. She tunes out the bickering between James and Lucy, and focuses on her coloring, cutting, glueing, twisting, and taping, until she’s able to hold out her hand and present Kara with two paper crafted rings. 

Kara just smiles and shakes her head. “You also have to be an adult.” Lena isn’t sure why she didn’t already know that, but she closes her fist around the two rings as Kara says, “Ask me when we’re older.”

**February 14, 1997  
**When Lena had been told she was supposed to make a Valentine’s day card for every single kid in her class, she thought it was a joke. She had about three friends, and that was enough for her. She didn’t know most of the kids in her class, and she certainly didn’t like them. She wasn’t even confident that she could name every single kid.

Still, her mom had wrestled her into the idea with the promise she could make the cards with Kara, and that they could all be the same.

“Just tape a piece of candy to this piece of paper and write a name on it, okay?” she practically begs.

And that’s how she finds herself walking over to Kara’s house on a day perfect for playing outside. She tells her this much as they sit down at the table, but when they actually start working, and Mrs. Danvers brings them apple slices, she decides it’s not that bad.

Halfway through, Lena frowns when she thinks about Kara getting a Valentine from her that’s the same as all the others. She wonders if you’re allowed to make a special one for your friend — no, your _best_ friend — but then chooses to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. She hastily scrawls through the rest of her Valentines, and then starts on one for Kara.

Mrs. Danvers takes a break from cooking dinner and taps the piece of paper she’d given them with a roster of the kids. “Make sure you double check the list, okay? You can’t forget anyone”  
Kara steals the last apple slice and nods, scratching lines through each name as she goes through her pile. Lena is busy working, so Kara starts counting her cards as well. “You missed one.”

“Huh?” Lena pauses, lifting her pencil just slightly off the paper.

“You missed one,” Kara repeats. She gestures towards the pile of Valentines. “You didn’t make one for me.”

“Oh, I guess I forgot,” Lena lies, covering her paper slightly. Kara looks more upset than the time she fell out of the tree and sprained her ankle, so Lena hastily adds, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” Kara says. “Whatcha drawing?”

“Um, just a picture,” she lies again, starting on two stick figures. She manages to distract Kara with a question about her favorite candy, and only when Kara leaves to go to the bathroom does she finish her work and stuff it into the middle of her pile. 

** February 14, 1998  
** Mike brings Kara a special Valentine far more elaborate than the bulk store bought ones he has for the rest of the class. It has a king sized Snickers bar taped to it. He shuffles on his feet shyly, pushes his hair back, and thrusts it into Kara’s hands.

“She’s allergic to peanuts,” Lena says sourly as she walks by.

** February 14, 1999  
** She’s not sure what’s wrong with him.

Did he hit his head? Is he sick? Does he have an evil twin who murdered him in his sleep and took his place? Has he been possessed by something? Lena doesn’t know. She just stares at him incredulously, as he says, “Will you be my Valentine?” as casually as he’d ask her if she wants cheese puffs or potato chips.

“I’m sorry, what?” 

“Will you be my Valentine?” he asks again. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to. He nods once.

** February 14, 2000  
** “Happy Valentine’s Day, L.” 

She looks up. “Hey, Dad.”

“I know it’s not your favorite holiday,” he says, “but chocolate is chocolate, right?”

Lena grins and lets her book fall closed. “Right.” 

She scoots over to make room for him on her bed, and he offers her a chocolate from a small box. “What are you reading?”

“Harry Potter,” she says, flipping the cover at him. “It’s Kara’s favorite.” He doesn’t say anything, which he does when he knows that Lena really wants to talk to him. He’s right, of course, and Lena isn’t sure whether she appreciates the invitation for conversation, or hates that he won’t distract her from her endless cycle of rambling thoughts. “Hey, Dad?”

“Mm?” 

“How do you know when you love someone?” she asks. “Like Mom.”

He smiles, almost knowingly, and leans back against the wall. “Well, I just realized I didn't want to live without her. I never wanted to wake up without seeing her every day. I love the way she makes me better, I love the way I can do the same for her. I love her sense of humor, her ambition.”

“How would I know?” Lena asks. “I mean, know if I love someone.”

“Think about how they make you feel,” he says.

So she does. She thinks about tucking Kara into the crook of her neck and reading her Harry Potter before bed at sleepovers. She thinks about running around on the playground and feeling her heart leap every time she spots Kara’s hair bouncing around the jungle gym. She thinks about waking up in the morning and wondering when she’s going to see Kara that day.

“I think I might love someone,” she confesses. 

“Yeah?” he asks, offering another chocolate. 

“You can love a best friend, right?” she asks. 

“Of course,” he says. “Your mom and I are best friends first, married second. We were friends for years before we ever started dating.”

“I think I might love Kara,” Lena says carefully. 

Her dad just smiles. “That’s awesome, L.”

** February 14, 2001  
** Lena decides she might actually enjoy Valentine’s Day. Now that they’re in middle school, they don’t do those stupid parties where they’re forced to make a generic card for every kid in their class. The chocolate isn’t half bad, and it’s almost alright. 

Almost. 

It’s alright until Kara runs up to her during passing period and excitedly tells her that Mike asked her to be his Valentine. 

“And you said...” Lena trails off. 

“Yes, of course,” Kara says. 

Lena nods. “Right. Well, cool.” 

If Kara notices that it’s definitely not cool, she doesn’t say anything. 

** February 14, 2002  
** Second period of eighth grade on February 14, 2002, officially sucks. There’s no candy, because eighth graders are too old for that, they have to do math, because it’s math class, and Lena sits behind Kara, not next to her.

Kara sits with Mike.

“Seriously, Winn?” Kara huffs, as the sixth Twix bar whizzes across the room and into the back of her head.

“I was aiming for Mike!” he calls from the back row.

“Winn, enough,” the teacher says. She picks up the candy bar and sets it gently, but pointedly, onto Mike’s desk. “Why are you all crazy today?” she sighs, gazing longingly at the lesson on the board.

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Winn says. “Aren’t you excited?”

“I suppose,” she says, with just a hint of a smile. “Do you have something fun planned?”

“Me and Lyra are going to the movies,” he says. Lyra giggles in a way that almost triggers Lena’s gag reflex as Winn slings his arm around her shoulders. “What about you?”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about my personal life with students,” she says. Winn shrugs. “Well, I have a nice dinner planned.”

“Are you married?” he asks.

She nods. Her lips turn up into a smile, her eyes are warm, and Lena gets the feeling she’s thinking about something far away from the classroom. “Sort of. It’s called a domestic partnership. It’s like we’re married.”

“What's the difference?” Kara asks.

Their teacher clicks her pen absentmindedly while carefully saying, "I don't know, legal stuff. Usually domestic partnerships happen between two women, you know?”

Kara spins around and grins at Lena. “ _We_ could get a domestic partnership!”

“What?” Lena says.

The teacher looks like she doesn’t quite know how to respond to that, but Kara continues saying, “We can get rich together and move into a nice home and have two dogs.”

“Yeah,” Lena says. “I mean, I think we have to be adults, but yeah, that sounds fun.”

“Then I’ll ask you again when we’re adults,” Kara decides.

Lena grins, and then teases, “Not if I ask you first.” 

**February 14, 2003  
**Sam does another couple eye movements, a wiggle of her eyebrows, and a cock of the head. Lena shrugs for the millionth time, having no idea what she’s trying to say. Sam rolls her eyes and scribbles something on a little piece of paper. She not-so-nonchalantly yawns, stretches, and reaches with her outstretched hand to drop the note onto Lena’s desk.

_Do you want to hang out tonight?_

Lena turns back and nods. Sam opens her mouth, then looks at the teacher, then rolls her eyes. She’s about to start writing another note when the bell rings. “Thank God,” she mumbles.

“You’re free tonight?” Lena asks.

Sam nods. “I’m surprised you are, though. Would have thought you and Kara had plans.”

“Nah,” Lena says. She tries to look like she doesn’t care, but Sam looks at her with such earnest concern that she doesn’t think it worked. “Mike asked her to be his girlfriend today, so, you know. They’re doing something.”

“Huh,” Sam says, slinging her backpack onto her right shoulder. “Why does everybody feel so desperate for romance now that we’re in high school? I’m pretty sure at least a third of the grade is still twelve.”

Lena just shrugs. “I don’t know. Are you?” Sam arches one eyebrow. “Desperate for romance?”

“Well, I wasn’t,” she says. “You?”

“I don’t think so,” Lena says. She dodges a senior who walks like he can’t even see them, and then adds, “though, I do see the appeal.”

“Then how about you be my Valentine?” Sam asks.

“What?” Lena isn’t sure why she’s suddenly so nervous, but it’s like she just got told she has to give a presentation on a book she hasn’t read.

“As friends,” Sam says, like, _Duh_.

Lena nods, mentally rolling her eyes at herself. “Right. Yeah, okay.”

Going to Sam’s house? Totally normal. Locking the door of her room? Totally normal. Putting on music? Totally normal. Lying on the bed, eating chocolate covered strawberries, and talking? Totally normal.

Their hands drifting closer and closer until they intertwine? She’s not so sure. Sam shifting her weight onto her side, so she’s leaning just over her? Lena starts to guess that it’s definitely not a thing to be someone’s Valentine ‘as a friend.’

Her speculation is confirmed when their lips meet in a hurried, clumsy kiss.

When they pull away, and Lena exhales, she feels relief flood through her, even though she doesn’t even know why. Sam just looks at her with sad, almost mournful expression, but there’s a knowing smile on her lips.

Lena closes her eyes as Sam presses one last kiss to her forehead, and for the first time, she feels like someone else might understand. What it is exactly there is to understand, she isn’t sure, but she gets the feeling Sam might be able to sort that out for her. 

** February 14, 2004   
** “Do you wanna come help me pick out an outfit for my Valentine's dinner with Mike tonight?” Kara stops pedaling, and they coast up to the stop sign where they normally part ways.

“Sure,” Lena says, “though I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

“I’ll pick the outfits,” Kara revises as they both take a right, “you just have to tell me if it looks good.” 

“Everything you wear looks good,” Lena says. Kara just laughs, but Lena proves to be utterly unhelpful when she just says yes to every single outfit Kara tries on. 

“Lena, you have to be honest,” Kara sighs. 

“I am!” Lena makes a wild gesture towards one of the many piles of clothing. “Okay... wear that one.”

“The black skirt and white top?” Kara asks. Lena nods with a satisfied smile. Kara narrows her eyebrows. “That wasn’t an option.”

“Oh.” Lena tries again. “Okay, let me think. How about the navy pants, white shirt. Then your nice navy shoes, and wear your hair down.”

Kara smiles. “See? That’s why I invited you.”

She fishes around in her makeup kit carefully, then selects a brush and a small container. With one hand, somehow, she expertly pulls her hair up into a messy bun, checks herself in the mirror for a second, and then gets to work.

Kara is singing along to the song on the record player she inherited from her grandma, Lena is just sitting on the bed, watching her, like they’ve done so many times before, but then suddenly she’s overwhelmed. Suddenly, it’s like she can’t breathe.

Because Kara is just so effortlessly herself. The way she moves, to the way she pauses to carefully apply mascara, to the way she immediately switches back into dancing to the music, to the way she tosses a look over at Lena, like they’ve just shared a scandalous inside joke.

Lena finds herself wondering how she ever got so lucky to be the recipient of all the care and joy that is Kara Danvers. She wants her to know that everything she does and everything she is is more special than Lena could ever put into words. Kara deserves to know.

But at the same time, something tells her in the back of her mind to keep her mouth shut. She isn’t sure why, but there’s a thud in her chest when she swallows thickly, and there’s a pit in her stomach when she blinks back the urge to confess the only thing Kara has never even known about her.

Hell, Lena doesn’t even know what it is.

Then, Kara is saying something. “I’m surprised you and Sam don’t have something planned tonight.”

“Oh, we’re not serious,” Lena says, feigning nonchalance. 

Kara raises an eyebrow. Her eyeshadow brush stops halfway to its destination, and Lena tries not to look as uncomfortable as she feels. “Really?”

Lena shrugs. “Yeah.” 

“We’ll find you someone,” Kara promises, and Lena just nods, because she doesn’t have the words to explain what she’s feeling, nor the courage to realize she’s already found the only person she’ll ever look for. 

** February 14, 2005  
** _Beep._

_Beep._

_Beeeeeeep_.

“I’m coming!” Lena yells out the window, rolling her eyes. She snags one more bite of bagel, grabs her backpack, and tumbles out the door. She slams herself into the seat next to Kara as the car takes off before she can even buckle her seatbelt. “Jeez.  
“We’re going to be late,” Kara says, as if justifying an accusation Lena never made.

“Oh, no,” she mumbles sarcastically. She clicks her seatbelt into place and then sneaks a glance at Kara’s impassive, weirdly impassive expression. “You okay?”

“Mhm.”

“You sure?” Lena keeps talking, because she knows Kara won’t. “I know it’s the first Valentine’s Day since you and Mike broke up.”

“I’m fine, really,” Kara says, and this time, Lena believes it. Kara tosses her a smile. “After all, I have you.”

“Yes, you do,” Lena agrees.

Kara checks her mirror quickly, and then swings a hard left. “Why is finding love so hard?” she complains. “I should have just been dating you this whole time.”

“Right,” Lena says. She forces a chuckle. “Do you remember when we almost got married?”

“In second grade,” she smiles. “My God, I was seven. Now I’m old.”

“Yeah, sixteen is _so_ old,” Lena says. 

“What was it?” Kara asks, like she didn’t even hear her. “The rings we made. Grass or something, right?”

“Paper,” Lena says. “I still have them.”

“No way,” Kara laughs. She shakes her head. “Crazy how we change. Crazy how _things_ change.”

Lena gives her a half smile. ”And crazy how much is the same.”

** February 14, 2006   
** She reaches into her pocket for her key, but, before she can fish it out, the door swings open and Kara stands in the doorway. “Welcome.”

“Hi,” Lena laughs. 

Mrs. Danvers is just finishing wiping down a pot as Lena follows Kara into the kitchen. “You know, I think it’s so nice that you two are having a girls night. Too many kids your age are paying too much attention to dating. Friends are the true young loves.”

“I guess,” Kara says, rolling her eyes at Lena. “Good night, Mom.” She hauls Lena by the hand up to her room, as if to lead her, even though it’s the same room they’ve been going to since they were seven, and Lena sighs happily at the array of pretty much every junk food available.

“Movies?” she asks. 

“Duh,” Kara nods. “And food.”

“I can’t believe this is our last year we’ll be able to do this,” Lena says. She collapses onto Kara’s bed and rolls just ever so slightly to the right hand side, knowing Kara prefers the left. 

“What do you mean?” Kara says, tossing her a can of Coke and a bag of chips. 

“Next year we’ll be at college,” Lena shrugs. “We’ll never lie on your bed and eat crap and watch movies again.”

“Shut up,” Kara says sourly, hitting her in the face with a bag of sour gummies. “Shut your mouth, we’re so doing this every time we come home for Christmas or whatever.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Lena says, smiling gently. 

“I’m glad I’m ending high school single,” Kara says thoughtfully. 

“Yeah?”

“Mike wasn’t right for me,” Kara says, “but I don’t think I really understood why. I need to figure myself out first, you know? I don’t know when I’ve found the right person if I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

“Huh.” Lena rips her chips open and crunches down on one. “That’s smart.”

Kara looks like she might say something else, but, in the end, she just clicks play and settles back into her giant mound of pillows. The movie has only been on for a couple minutes when she gets restless already.

At first, she just pokes Lena’s foot with her own. Lena ignores this, knowing that Kara gets bored really easily, but can usually be sucked into something if nothing else is more interesting. However, Kara doesn’t. They’re half an hour in when she starts stealing Lena’s chips. Innocent at first, then a coax for attention. 

“Get your own,” Lena grumbles, though she shifts just enough to tilt the opening of the bag closer to Kara.

“I don’t want my own,” Kara says, reaching over and grabbing some more. 

“In that case,” Lena starts, “you owe me.” She leans over and snatches the last bit of Kara’s chocolate bar. Kara snatches it back. Back and forth, tumbling around like they’re seven again, until Lena is leaning over Kara to grab desperately at the hand holding the candy that Kara has outstretched off the edge of the bed. “You’re trapped. I won.”

“Did you?” Kara asks.

Lena can feel her breathing quicken, and can hear Kara’s heart pounding, though she starts to think it might just be her own.

And then Lena kisses her. It’s reserved, at first. Timid. She doesn’t even know why she did it, and her palms start sweating as her mind starts racing, waiting for her brain to catch up to her body.

She’s ready to pull away, but then Kara starts to kiss her back, and Lena distantly hears a little thud as the chocolate bar tumbles from Kara’s grip and onto the ground below.

Kara’s lips are soft, because of course they are, and she tastes faintly of chocolate as their lips explore each other delicately. It’s not that Lena specifically imagined kissing Kara, but she does feel like she has imagined... _something_ before, and she remembers this only to note that there is no way her daydream could ever compare.

Despite knowing that this is absolutely not either of their first kisses, Kara is inhibited and respectful as she gently rubs her thumb along Lena’s jaw. Her lips guide, though they coax instead of demand, and Lena’s mouth follows happily.

She’s breathing hard when she pulls away, but Kara’s eyes are twinkling up at her, and Lena just smiles. “Yeah, I think I did.”

**February 14, 2007  
**It’s freezing, while also somehow being obnoxiously sunny, and Lena is grumpy. Every time she passes a girl holding a flower or a box of chocolates, she frowns a little bit harder.

It’s not her fault Kara goes to school eight hours away. Stanford had been her dream long before she had ever even considered dating Lena, and Lena is happy for her. She’s just not happy at the situation.

She slides her Bruin card at the door to her dorm, and a hint of jealousy slips into her sigh when she notices students who have obviously only just woken up. She thought she’d be such a good student and so awesome for taking a class at seven thirty in the morning, but she soon realized that it was a terrible idea.

“You don’t get brownie points in college for taking morning classes,” she’d complained to Kara after two weeks at school. “You just get sleepy.”

Her roommate is packing her backpack when Lena walks in. “Morning.”

“Hey,” Lena says, flopping onto her bed. All she wants to do is go back to sleep, but she knows she wouldn’t be able to even if she tried.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” her roommate offers.

“Don’t talk to me,” Lena grumbles.

“You have class again, right?” her roommate asks, ignoring her. Lena nods. “So you’ll be out until at least noon?” Lena nods again. “Okay, well, let me know if you come back early.”

“Why?” Lena says. Her roommate just shrugs, and Lena narrows her eyes, wanting to press further, but more so wanting her to leave so she can relax even more. “Alright, fine.” 

She manages to wave her roommate off, and debates skipping class to just lie in bed and be sad, but she knows Kara would want her to go to class, so she hauls herself into a sitting position to do some review first.

Technically she doesn’t actually do any schoolwork, but she sits with her textbook open in front of her while she texts Kara, which she considers as much of a win as she’s going to get for the day.

Kara <3

**[9:07 AM]** Good morning, again.

**[9:09 AM]** do your homework

**[9:09 AM]** I miss you. Happy Valentine’s Day.

**[9:15 AM]** i miss you too  
**[9:15 AM]** do your homework

Samamantha

**[9:15 AM]** Good morning, Sam.

**[9:15 AM]** Kara says do ur homework :)

Lena groans, smashing her face down onto the textbook. She considers actually trying to get some work done, but the notion is dismissed as quickly as it comes, and she instead grabs her phone and keys to get a coffee.

She knows fully well she won’t be able to take a nap  —  she’s never been the type to be able to do that —  but if she stays in her dorm any longer she’s going to go crazy.

Huffing under her breath, she stomps past the giant bear outside the dorm next door to hers, past the building streamers and balloons, across campus where practically everybody with a mouth is putting it to use right out in the open, and into the only Starbucks on campus, where she is assaulted by even more Valentine’s Day decorations.

“Not a fan of the holiday?” the employee behind the register muses.

“What gave you that idea?” Lena asks dryly.

“Oh, just the way you look like you’d stab all those decorative bears if you could,” the barista says, still smiling. “Bad breakup?”

“The opposite, actually,” Lena says. “My girlfriend goes to school eight hours away. This is our first Valentine’s Day together after about ten years of pining, so it’s pretty fucking annoying that it’s also our first we haven’t spent together.” She pauses. “Excuse my language, and the word vomit.”

“Your girlfriend is lucky to have you,” the barista says. “Name for the order?”

“I am,” she says thoughtfully. “My name is Lena.”

“Well, Lena,” the barista says, hitting a few buttons, “you’re all set. Coffee on the house today. Hope next year is better.”

“You and me both,” she grumbles, sulking off to the side.

She’s well aware that her behavior is absolutely ridiculous, and almost starts to get over herself, but then a flash of dirty blonde hair outside the window that reminds her so much of Kara sends her into a spiral again, and she flicks the stuffed bear in the face before turning him to face the wall.

Even though being around other people sucks, Lena figures being alone in her dorm is worse, so she takes her time walking back.

UCLA is a beautiful campus after all, and the morning air is crisp and clear. The sun shines dutifully in the sky, and it is otherwise a really nice day. Her mind is made up before she even knows it, and she decides she’ll skip class and go read outside instead.

She’s just downing the last of her coffee when she notices her dorm door is suspiciously already cracked open slightly.

All that stranger danger, and she wonders if she’s actually now about to get murdered.

Cautiously, she pushes the door open a couple feet, and her worry dies as soon as it starts to bubble up at the sight of a very familiar blonde head. “Kara?”

“Lena?” Kara whips her head around.

“Why are you surprised? I live here,” Lena deadpans.

“You’re supposed to be at class,” Kara accuses.  
“Absolutely not,” Lena says, crossing the threshold and wrapping her arms around Kara in two short strides.

“Education is important,” Kara mumbles into the top of Lena’s head. She presses a kiss lightly, and then leans back to lift Lena’s chin slightly. “Although, I’m not complaining anymore.”

The kiss is sloppy and hurried and making up for lost time.

“You surprised me,” Lena says, slightly out of breath as she pulls back.  
“I did,” Kara agrees. “I really wanted to see the person I love, can you blame me?”

“You love me,” Lena says, nibbling on her bottom lip to stop herself from grinning like an idiot.  
“Of course I do,” Kara says, shaking her head slightly. “I’ve been telling you that since we were, like, seven.”

“No, I mean, you love me?” Lena repeats, this time nibbling her bottom lip to hide her nerves. The implications are clear, suddenly ten feet higher than the platonic ‘love you!’s that they’ve tossed to each other over the years, but Kara doesn’t skip a beat.

“I love you, Lena,” she confirms, swiping a thumb gently over her lip.  
“I love you, too,” Lena says softly.

The second kiss is slower.

** February 14, 2008   
** If Lena was miserable last year, it’s only twice as bad this time.

At least then she got a visit from Kara; this year, all she has is a phone call and a bouquet of flowers sent to her dorm. Nobody said distance was going to be easy, but nobody said it would be this hard.

“What’re you doing?” Kara mumbles over the phone.

Lena sets her on speakerphone, and lays it on her stomach. “Just lying in bed. The flowers were beautiful, thank you.”

“I would have sent three if I had known you were going to send me two bouquets,” Kara says indignantly.

Lena cracks into a smile. “You are ridiculous.” A pause. “I miss you.”

“I miss you more,” Kara says quietly.

“Not possible,” Lena whispers.

“Well, I got some good news today,” Kara says brightly.

“Oh?” Lena shifts, shoving another chocolate square into her mouth.

“I got an internship at NBC Bay Area,” she says, and Lena can hear her smile through the phone.

“That’s amazing!” Lena says. She breaks into a smile, and then frowns when she realizes that all she can do is verbally give her congratulations. “I’m so proud of you. Wish we could celebrate in person.”

“I know,” Kara says. “Two more years.”

“Two more years,” she agrees.

**February 14, 2009  
**“Yes, I will be out of the apartment tonight so you and Kara can have wild, wild phone sex,” Sam says, rolling her eyes.

Lena throws a pillow at her. “Actually, I was going to ask if you used the last of the laundry detergent. Bitch.”

“That’s no way to speak to the person who is giving you the apartment to yourself,” Sam says, narrowing her eyes.

“Doubt there’ll be any wild phone sex tonight,” Lena mumbles, “so you might as well stay in.”

“Everything going okay with you guys?” Sam says, frowning. She tosses the pillow gently back at Lena, who props it against the couch and leans against it. “I know distance is hard.”

“It’s really hard,” Lena says helplessly. She gestures aimlessly around. “I mean, I’m closer with you than I am her. How are people supposed to maintain a relationship when they only see each other three times a year?”

“I don’t know, but a lot of people do it,” Sam says, popping a See’s Candy truffle into her mouth.

“Well, I don’t think I can,” Lena admits. Sam pauses. Lena groans and shoves her face into her hands. “Am I a terrible person?”

“For having trouble with long-distance, no. For insinuating you’re going to break-up with your perfect girlfriend on Valentine’s Day? Absolutely,” Sam says, reaching out to kick her.

“Ow!” Lena complains, withdrawing up onto the couch. “I don’t _want_ to, I just don’t know what _else_ to do.”

“Um, just keep doing what you’ve been doing?” Sam says. Lena says nothing, just picks at her fingernail, a terrible habit that drove her mother crazy. “Talk to me, Luthor.”

“What if it isn’t enough for Kara anymore,” Lena finally spits out. She knows Sam knows what she really means is, _What if I’m not enough for Kara anymore?_

“Then she would tell you,” Sam says.

“Or I could just... do it for her,” Lena says. “I don’t want her to break-up with me.”

“So your logic is to do it first?” Sam almost laughs. Lena just nods. “Lena, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, and I speak to you every day. Kara is happy with you. She’s not happy with the situation, of course, but she loves you. You know that.”

Lena doesn’t say anything.

Sam presses a kiss to her forehead on the way out and murmurs, “Don’t screw up.”

Lena does.

The phone call lasts exactly five minutes and forty-two seconds. Lena didn’t know her heart could break in such a short amount of time, and for the first time in many years, she spends Valentine’s Day with her heart aching for Kara in a way she’d almost forgotten how to feel.

** February 14, 2010  
** Why Lena’s idiotic family decided to host a funeral on Valentine’s Day of all days, Lena will never understanding, but it’s her mother’s funeral after all, so she attends dutifully.

The service is weird. Everyone is crying, but also a little bit horny, and everybody wants to talk about their plans for the evening.

Lena dips out of the reception as quickly as she can, taking the stairs up to her bedroom for solitude instead. She isn’t crying, which is kind of ridiculous, but she wanders aimlessly around her childhood room that hasn’t changed much, seeing bits of her mother in everything.

The made bed has clean sheets because Lena’s mother would change her and Lex’s every week just in case they wanted to visit. There’s a photograph of the two of them on Lena’s nightstand, and on her desk is a note with handwriting all too familiar.

The paper is folded in half so it stands up like a tent, and the word _Lena_ is scrawled across in her mother’s typical cursive.

All it says is: _I give you my blessing._

On the desk, underneath where the note was, are the little paper rings from when they were just seven-years-old.

Lena swallows a lump in her throat that is making its first appearance for the day, and cups the rings gently in her palms. She’s still staring at them when she dials the number to the only voice she wants to hear right now.

“Lena.” The word is said like a prayer, and Lena’s heart breaks all over again at the way Kara still cherishes her name.

“Kara,” she breathes. She wipes away a tear. “Um, I’m sorry to call you.”

“Don’t be,” Kara says. “I wanted to come today.”

“It’s okay,” Lena says. “My mother liked you a lot. I don’t think you missing her funeral on account of being across the state would change that.”

“Well, I’m glad,” Kara says. Lena can hear her breathing a bit, and then she continues, “so what’s up? How are you doing?”

“I’m okay,” Lena says, swallowing down the sharp pang where Kara reminds her she can’t just call her for no reason anymore. “I, uh, wanted to hear your voice. And to apologize.”

“For?” Kara sounds genuinely confused.

“How I ended things,” Lena says. Kara sucks in a breath. “On Valentine’s Day? Also technically our anniversary? Brutal.”

“Yeah,” Kara says.

“I’m sorry,” Lena repeats.

“It’s okay,” Kara says softly. There’s a pause, as if Kara is psyching herself up, and then she says, “Really, I’m not upset about it anymore.”

“You probably should be,” Lena says, suddenly feeling her palms sweat like she’s a gross sixteen-year-old again. “I also wanted to maybe ask you if you would possibly consider undoing what I did last year.”

A pause.

It’s quiet, too quiet, and Lena wants to take it all back, but she knows this isn't something she can laugh and throw a ‘just kidding!’ at.

“You want to get back together?” Kara asks. Lena nods, though she knows Kara can’t see her, but Kara seems to get the hint anyway.

Silence.

“Earth to Kara,” Lena prompts, feeling her skin crawl.

“Lena, I...” Kara trails off. Her exhale is audible through the crackle of the phone call, and Lena’s heart sinks. “Look, you went about it all wrong, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good idea. I think we both know you did it for the right reasons. Distance doesn’t work with us. And we’re still eight hours away from each other.”

“Right,” Lena says, because of _course_ Kara is right, and Lena is sitting there like an idiot with their stupid childhood rings in one hand and rejection in the other.

“I love you,” Kara says. Her tone is soft, but the stab straight at her heart.

Lena swallows. “I know.”

** February 14, 2011  
** Lena had known she’ll be moving to the Bay Area for a few months, but for some reason couldn’t bring herself to tell Kara.

They were still friends, of course. Sort of. No more nightly FaceTime calls, but they still talked over text at the very least, and they still updated each other on life.

Not this, though.

The implications of what moving to the same place Kara currently lives (and will continue to for the foreseeable future) is too heavy. Lena wouldn’t know how to even say it.

So, of course, against her better judgement (and Sam’s), she decides, ‘fuck it,’ and books a plane ticket to go visit.

It’s only when she’s knocking on Kara’s door with a bouquet of flowers and a package of potstickers does she realize that this could all go very poorly in just a few short seconds. For all she knows, Kara is celebrating Valentine’s Day with someone else.

The idea is killed as soon as the door opens. The sweatpants and tank top and messy bun don’t really scream ‘dinner plans,’ and there’s some comical confusion on Kara’s face when she says, “Lena?”

“Hey,” she says. She rocks back and forth on her feet, suddenly feeling a lot less confident. She thrusts the flowers in Kara’s direction. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Thank you,” Kara says carefully. She looks good. A little older. A little more mature. There are bags under her eyes, and a slump to her shoulders, but her eyes are as warm as ever, despite the confusion, and there’s a hesitant smile trying its way onto her lips.

A pause.

Lena sighs. “I got your address up here from Winn. I know I — well, we — didn’t really ask you, but I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s fine, but…” _what are you doing here?_ her eyes scream.

“I’m moving. Moving to the Bay Area,” Lena says. Kara’s eyes widen. “I, uh, I mean — you know.” Kara gives her a look like, _No, I don’t._ Lena flushes. “I meant for this to happen a little more eloquently.”

The timid smile has morphed into a full blown smirk as Kara starts to catch wind. “Keep going,” she coaxes.

“Well, the only reason we broke up was the distance, right?” Lena says. She doesn’t wait for an answer. “And soon, there won’t be any. So…”

“So?” Kara prompts. Her eyes taunt, _Say it._

“So, I was wondering if you’d want to get back together,” Lena finishes.

And then Kara is kissing her, arms thrown fiercely around Lena’s neck, lips pressed feverishly to hers. They beckon and beg and thank and apologize all at the same time, and when Lena finally accepts what’s happening enough to let her hands come to rest on Kara’s hips, she realizes that this is what it feels like to come home.

“I missed you,” Kara breathes, pulling back just enough.

“I assume you were going to say, ‘yes’?” Lena jokes, but examines Kara’s eyes for any traces of regret.

Kara rolls her eyes, breathes, “ _Duh_ ,” and gets to work kissing away her doubt.

** February 14, 2012  
** Lena isn’t sure what to expect when she gets home, but it sure isn’t what she ends up finding.

Kara stands in the middle of the kitchen with her hands thrown up against her cheeks as she presses her lips tightly together. There are about sixty pots and pans around the kitchen (Lena didn’t even know they _had_ that many cooking appliances), pretty much ever kitchen device ever sits in the sink, and there’s a faint smell of smoke.

“Kara?” Lena steps hesitantly into the kitchen. From the way Kara is gingerly looking around, Lena is sincerely hoping there’s no bomb that she’ll accidentally trigger.

“No!” Kara cries, turning to face her. She throws her hands up, eyebrows furrowing.

“Darling, what?” Lena says with a little laugh. She steps closer, wrapping her arms around Kara, who is actually is actually _trembling_. “Are you… cooking?”

“Was,” Kara mumbles into her shoulder.

“In the nicest way, I wish you wouldn’t,” Lena says.

“Rude,” Kara pouts.

“You burn _everything_ ,” Lena reminds her, looking up and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

“I just wanted tonight to be special,” Kara admits, fiddling with the end of Lena’s ponytail. Her eyes are downcast, and her tone is a poor attempt at nonchalance. “It’s our first Valentine’s Day back together, you know?”

“Oh, darling,” Lena murmurs. “It _will_ be special. No matter what. Do you know why?”

“Why?” Kara asks dutifully.

“Because you’re here,” Lena says. She kisses Kara’s cheek. “And I’m here.”

“ _We’re_ here,” Kara agrees.

In the end, they go out for In-N-Out, and Kara attempts for the millionth time to get Lena to appreciate Animal fries (“Onions are gross, give it a rest, okay?”).

They’re sitting in Kara’s old Subaru Outback with three burgers for Kara, one for Lena, and a copious amount of (normal) fries between them.

Lena rolls her eyes at the way Kara wrinkles her nose at Lena dipping hers in her milkshake, as if that even comes close enough to being as weird as Kara’s obsession with Animal fries. “It wouldn’t kill you to try this just once.”

“It might,” Kara says, scandalized. Then she smiles, raising her fork full of fries topped heavily by onions. “A bite for a bite?”

“Never mind,” Lena mumbles.

“And I will live to see another day,” Kara sighs. “Thank you.”

“You’re such a dork,” Lena says, fighting the smile that she knows will inevitably find its way onto her stubborn face.

“You love me, though,” Kara teases.

Lena nods, pushing back the (happy) tears that have suddenly risen from her throat out of nowhere. “Yeah, I do.”

** February 14, 2013  
** Kara will be at the office until late that evening, which Lena knows because she’d spent the last week and a half apologizing for it, despite Lena’s objections that she really wasn’t upset.

Knowing she’ll have almost three hours to herself in the apartment before Kara gets home, Lena decides to cook.  
It’s a good idea, until she starts.

During the next three hours, she learns three things:

First, Tasty is a motherfucking liar, and cooking steak is definitely _not_ as easy as they make it look.

Second, Kara’s bad habit of setting the kitchen on fire can now be somewhat understood.

Third, Lena hates cooking, so it’s a good thing Kara likes take-out.

She manages to scrape together a meal, though, with chocolate soufflés that she is surprisingly proud of. The table is set with a flower in the center, and candles because romance, right?

Looking at her handiwork, which has left her utterly exhausted, Lena decides the meal really wasn’t enough of a prize for the work, but it all becomes worth it when Kara steps through the door and actually audibly gasps.

“Good evening,” Lena says, helping her out of her coat.

“You did this?” Kara squeaks. Her eyes are shining like Lena has just caught her the stars.

“It’s just dinner,” she mumbles, though her cheeks begin to burn when Kara turns to her with flushed cheeks and a smile large enough to match her wide eyes.

“Just dinner?” Kara says. She wraps her arms around Lena’s neck. “It’s amazing. Thank you.”

‘Amazing’ is maybe a bit of a stretch when they actually sit down to eat, but the word floats to the front of Lena’s mind when they wind down with a platter of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine on the couch.

“I can’t believe you surprised me with dinner,” Kara mumbles sleepily.

“That’s not my only surprise,” Lena admits. Kara pauses her fingers, which have been running through Lena’s hair for the past hour.

“Oh?” she says, blinking herself awake.

“Here.” Lena fishes into her pocket and produces two tiny, pink, faded pieces of paper.

“Our rings,” Kara says happily. “I can’t believe you still have them.”

“Always,” Lena says. She shrugs. “I don’t know. I just like to have them around.”

“Can I have mine back?” Kara asks.

Lena presses a kiss to the underside of Kara’s jaw. “Eventually.”

** February 14, 2014  
** “And this is where I begged you to take me back,” Lena says, dragging Kara up the steps of the apartment where she’d knocked three years ago.

“Thank God you did,” Kara says with a little laugh. The evening air has been slowly growing colder, but Kara’s laugh spreads warmth through the tips of her fingers, like she’s letting in the sunshine itself. “I was hoping you would, because I don’t think I ever would have.”

“Really?” Lena asks.

Kara shrugs. “I thought you were, like, really mad at me for not taking you back the year before.”

“You were right,” Lena says.

“I know, but it still couldn’t have been easy,” Kara says, squeezing Lena’s hand. “I didn’t know if you still wanted me after that.”

“Kara Danvers,” Lena says, drawing their hands up so she can kiss Kara’s knuckles, “I will always want you.”

Kara tugs her to come step up onto the front porch, and Lena hopes that whoever lives there either doesn’t notice or doesn’t mind the two random people loitering on their front steps.

“Do you remember our first Valentine’s Day?” Lena asks.

“Like, ever?” Kara asks. Lena nods. “We were seven, right? We had to do those cards for our family members. I made one for Alex.” Lena nods again, urging her to keep going. “And you made one for your mom, and then made us those cute little rings made out of cardstock.”

“And do you remember what I said?” Lena’s fingers fidget with the little ring of paper in her pocket that has grown soft from years of wear and tear.

“You asked me to marry you,” Kara says softly.

“Then what did you say?” Lena prompts.

“I told you to ask me when we’re older,” Kara remembers with a smile.

“Yes, you did.” Lena fights back an overwhelming urge to cry, because why does she always feel the need to tear up like an idiot when she’s happy? She just carefully displays the ring in the palm of her hand.

“You still have it,” Kara observes.

“Always,” Lena says, echoing her words from the year before. “Valentine’s Day is kind of a memorable day for us, huh?”

“Mm,” Kara muses, “you mean the getting together as teenagers and then getting dumped over the phone and then having a funeral and then getting surprised and asked to get back together again, all on fourteenth of February?”

“Precisely,” Lena agrees. “I figured, why not add one more event to the mix?”

“Like what?” Kara says, as if daring her. Lena searches her face for any trace of ‘ _Please don’t do this_ ,’ but sees nothing but want and wonder reflected back at her.

So she drops to one knee. “Kara Danvers,” Lena starts, swallowing back the lump in her throat. “Will you marry me?”

Kara closes her shivering hands in her own, and gently guides her to her feet. Her gaze is as warm as the day they met, and the childlike twinkle of the little girl Lena first fell in love with dwindles in the back of deep blue eyes that have since matured tenfold. “Lena Luthor,” she murmurs, “I will marry you.”

** February 14, 2015  
** “I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm still only on season 3 of supergirl so i’m holding out hope for canon supercorp :(
> 
> quinnfebrey on tumblr. come chat!


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